


All Just a Bad Dream

by kelsinka



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Afterlife, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 10:18:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7044412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kelsinka/pseuds/kelsinka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Severus Snape finds out that he did not go to Hell after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Just a Bad Dream

_Look...at...me..._

Severus Snape opened his eyes.

He was dead. He had died. It was all over. The only hope for the Wizarding World was now Potter. There was nothing he could do anymore.

As he looked around what he assumed was the afterlife, he had to admit it was not at all what he'd expected—a small room, by the looks of it a bedroom. It was faintly lit by moonlight and modestly decorated, with unmoving Muggle pictures hanging on the walls and looked clean and taken care of. Somewhere he could hear the sound of leaves being moved by the wind. The difference between this room and his old one in Spinner's End couldn't have been bigger.

There was sweat on his forehead. He moved to wipe it off. He froze. 

His arm, his _left_ arm, was glowing in the moonlight, pale as ever, but it lacked the signature black skull. The Dark Mark was gone. Severus moved it closer to his face to inspect it in the partial darkness. No, it hadn't completely vanished, there was a faint scar where it used to be, but that didn't look even half as menacing as what it used to. 

Feeling bemused, but also strangely tranquil, he let his arm fall back down. He was dead, after all. Nothing could bother him anymore. His appendage flopped down on something soft, a bed. He was laying on a bed. Now Severus was even more confused—he had heard quite a few theories about the afterlife, but none included waking up in a bed somewhere.

Something beside him moved and Severus felt the mattress sink in a little. Still on edge from years of spying, he jerked himself up and reached for where his wand usually laid on the nightstand. Bony fingers gripped the familiar, secure wood and he pointed it into the direction of the noise. 

His normally steady grip faltered however, as he saw what—who—had made the noise.

There, laying beside him on the bed, her beautiful hair reflecting the pale moonlight, was someone he had expected to never see again. She was laying on her stomach, turned towards him, one slender leg sticking out from under the haphazardly thrown about blankets. She looked so—so _natural_ somehow, laying sprawled out beside him, not a care in the world.

Her eyes were still closed, but she lifted one arm and grabbed ahold of the wand, then gently thugged it out of his hand. Severus was too stunned to move.

She was _dead_. This shouldn't be possible.

"Who are y—" he choked out. There was no way this was her. No way.

"Go back to sleep, Sev. We have to wake up early to bring Micah to the Express." she grumbled, her voice groggy. She sounded exactly like _she_ used to when they met in the Great Hall in the mornings. It made his heart ache a little.

"I—who—" for the first time in years, he felt completely at a loss of words.

The figure beside him rubbed her still closed eyes and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She was so close to him, he could feel the drowsy heat radiating from her body.

"Not so loud, you'll wake the kids." the complaint was accompanied by a groan. "You have no idea how long it took me to get them to sleep yesterday."

_Kids?_

"I—" his voice left him.

Lily pried open her eyes. They were as green as all those years ago. Severus's mouth felt dry.

"...Sev, are you all right?"

All right? He was _dead_. _She_ was _dead_. His hand flew to his neck, to the spot where his life had flowed out of him in a stream of blood. There was nothing there, his skin was perfectly smooth. He stared at his unstained hand, then back at her. Then back at his hand.

This had to be some form of mistake. 

A feminine, small hand covered his and for a moment, he thought he might actually jerk away, but found himself unable to.

"Lily?"

He was afraid to say her name out loud, as if he'd break the spell surely cast on him if he did so. She looked at him, almond shaped eyes now abandoned by any form of sleepiness, studying him. Carefully, she reached out her other hand and cupped his face. 

"You had a nightmare again," she whispered, not quite a question.

Without waiting for an answer, Lily wrapped both her arms around him and pulled him close to her. Severus honestly did not know what he was doing as he returned her embarce, but instinct took over and he felt himself at ease. Her body felt soft and warm and familiar and oh, he never wanted to wake up from this dream. Lily's grip on him tightened as if she were trying to put all his broken pieces back together and at that moment, Severus Snape felt more complete than he had ever done before.

Burying his face in the crook of her neck he did not even care anymore whether he was dead or alive. She was here with him and he'd never, _ever_ let her go again.

"Come, lay back down." she whispered into his ear and, without ever breaking their embrace, dragged him down onto the bed with her. The covers somehow felt softer than they did before. Her head was pressed right under his chin and she kept her arms around his neck as she tangled her feet with his.

"What did you dream?"

The words were soft and tickled his neck.

"You and-and Potter—y-you—Dumbledore—snake—" he was a mess. There was so much he had to say, had to apologise for, she _had_ to know how sorry he was for everything he'd done— 

"I am so sorry." he choked out.

"Say no more. I forgave you for that years ago. All of that was a nightmare, Sev. You are still recovering from the War. It is all right now. You are safe. I am safe. Our family is safe."

"Family?"

"Yes." she moved herself upwards so she was laying face to face with him. Their noses touched. Severus couldn't help but stare into her eyes. "Our son Micah is going to Hogwarts tomorrow. Daisy is a little jealous, but I'm sure she can wait one more year. She would miss you too much."

One of her arms untangled itself from him and she brushed his hair out of his face.

"Go sleep, Sev. All will be right again in the morning, I promise."

He didn't want to go to sleep. If he closed his eyes, she would be gone and he'd be back in the Shrieking Shack, isolated and cold. There would be no Micah, no Daisy, no Lily. Just him and Potter and Granger. 

He tightened his grip on her, pressing her warm body against him. He couldn't let her go. Not again.

Lily seemed to understand his distress as her eyes softened. "I will be right here when you wake up. I'm not going anywhere."

She stared into his eyes. He felt like his heart had stopped beating at that moment. Lily leaned closer and pressed her lips softly against his.

"Please sleep.” she murmured. “For me." 

She could have told him to jump off off a bridge and he wouldn't even have thought to protest. Severus took a deep breath, closed his eyes. 

“I love you, Severus.”

He did not respond verbally, just let his forehead rest against her’s. There was no further need for words. She knew he loved her, had always done so and always would. And so, they both drifted back off to sleep.

 

Tomorrow, Micah Snape would go to Platform Platform 9¾ for the first time, being dropped off by both his parents. His sister Daisy would be sniffling, but trying to hide it, as would his mother. His father would look at him quietly but proudly, as he had always done, and hand him his luggage. Micah would be placed in Gryffindor only a few hours later, which would cause his mother to smile and father to, half-heartedly, roll his eyes at her as they would read his letter.

Secretly his father would fold up Micah’s letter and slip it into the family photo album, right next to a wedding picture. Severus Snape and Lily Evans Snape’s wedding picture.

And all would be well.


End file.
